Perot's Disservice to NAFTA's Opponents

Article excerpt

ALTHOUGH there are legitimate reasons to challenge the North
American Free Trade Agreement, Ross Perot's "giant sucking sound"
Mexico-bashing infomerical is not one of them. While the Texas
billionaire could have been a formidable ally for fellow critics of
NAFTA, he actually has hurt our cause by turning to an anti-free
trade mythology based more on paranoia than solid analysis.

By engaging the Mexican/US pro-NAFTA lobby in a multi-million
dollar propaganda duel, Perot and his anti-NAFTA movement, United
We Stand America, may have raised the visibility of the issue, but
they have failed to advance the public's understanding of what's
really at stake.

Even after dismissing all of the proto-sincere warblings by a
battalion of highly paid economists, politicized lawyers, and PR
firms - all insisting that NAFTA will usher in an economic New
Jerusalem - free-trade opponents still must realize that Perot's
case isn't "just that simple, folks." For example, the worst-case
scenario for the displacement of United States jobs by NAFTA (about
490,000 workers) would account for less than 6 percent of the total
of all projected US job losses over the next five years.

However, it is unlikely that job displacement of that magnitude
will occur. The US International Trade Commission states that
virtually every reputable study has concluded that NAFTA actually
should yield an increase in US jobs and wages.

Although this Bush-era finding could represent a tendentious
manipulation of facts by White House apparatchiks, it also just
could be true, or partially true. Perot's group, however, finds it
unnecessary to release countering analysis or come forth with any
reports by economists of standing to challenge these claims. In
fact, for Perot, there is no case for NAFTA, because l'etat c'est
moi.

Perot's lobby would be less arresting if he exerted only a
marginal influence on US policymakers. When he holds closed
meetings with Congress concerning these major issues, what criteria
are we using to establish his qualifications?

A heap of sawbucks and a puckish wit alone should not give one
unique access to elected officials and extensive media coverage.
Perot's belief that he can purchase anything, including
Washington's attention, sets a precedent we may not want to follow.
What may turn out to be even more dangerous to the nation is that
his shrill lashes against NAFTA only beggars the debate by arming
his enemies with better weapons to destroy his palsied arguments. …